ArticleCanine medicine and genetics2022
English Bulldogs in the UK: a VetCompass study of their disorder predispositions and protections.
Article in Canine medicine and genetics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- 'Teleonomes in Tatters': The Welfare Costs of Selecting Dogs for Extreme Phenotypes, and the Case for Change.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Article
- Quantitative genetic analysis of respiratory function and related traits in Bulldogs, French Bulldogs and Pugs.PloS one · 2026Article
- Lessons from changing soft tissue surgical referral trends for cats and dogs in a UK veterinary university teaching hospital between 2008 and 2018.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Demography, common disorders, cause-specific mortality and life expectancy of Ragdoll cats under primary veterinary care during 2019 in the UK.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Epidemiology and clinical management of 1072 dogs with diabetes mellitus in a UK diabetes register.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Beauty versus the beast: The UK public prefers less-extreme body shapes in brachycephalic dog breeds.The Veterinary record · 2025Article
- Yorkshire Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK - demography and disorders.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Conformational eyelid disorders in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK - Epidemiology and clinical management.PloS one · 2025Article
- Review
- Awareness, experiences, and opinions by owners, breeders, show judges, and veterinarians on canine Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).Canine medicine and genetics · 2024Article
- Ethical Concerns about Fashionable Dog Breeding.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- Demography, common disorders and mortality of Shih Tzu dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK.Canine medicine and genetics · 2024Article
- English Cocker Spaniels under primary veterinary care in the UK: disorder predispositions and protections.Canine medicine and genetics · 2024Article
- BOAS in the Boston Terrier: A healthier screw-tailed breed?PloS one · 2024Article
- Dermatological Problems of Brachycephalic Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Predicting health outcomes in dogs using insurance claims data.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxer dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK.Canine medicine and genetics · 2023Article
- Brachycephalics: 'Once a problem is seen it cannot be unseen'.Canine medicine and genetics · 2023Article
- Dog breeds and conformations in the UK in 2019: VetCompass canine demography and some consequent welfare implications.PloS one · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe English Bulldog has risen sharply in popularity over the past decade but its distinctive and extreme conformation is linked to several serious health conditions. Using multivariable analysis of anonymised veterinary clinical data from the VetCompass Programme, this study compared the odds of common disorders between English Bulldogs and all remaining dogs in the UK during 2016.
resultsFrom 905,544 dogs under veterinary care during 2016, the analysis included a random sample of 2,662 English Bulldogs and 22,039 dogs that are not English Bulldogs. English Bulldogs had 2.04 times the odds of diagnosis with ≥ 1 disorder than dogs that are not English Bulldogs (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.85 to 2.25). At a specific-level of diagnostic precision, English Bulldogs had increased odds of 24/43 (55.8%) disorders. These included: skin fold dermatitis (odds ratio [OR] 38.12; 95% CI 26.86 to 54.10), prolapsed nictitating membrane gland (OR 26.79; 95% CI 18.61 to 38.58) and mandibular prognathism (OR 24.32; 95% CI 13.59 to 43.53). Conversely, English Bulldogs had significantly reduced odds of 6/43 (14.0%) disorders. These included: retained deciduous tooth (OR 0.02; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.17), lipoma (OR 0.06; 95% CI 0.01 to 0.40) and periodontal disease (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.18 to 0.30). At a grouped-level of diagnostic precision, English Bulldogs had significantly increased odds of 17/34 (50.0%) disorders. These included: congenital disorder (OR 7.55; 95% CI 5.29 to 10.76), tail disorder (OR 6.01; 95% CI 3.91 to 9.24) and lower respiratory tract disorder (OR 5.50; 95% CI 4.11 to 7.35). Conversely, English Bulldogs had significantly reduced odds of 3/34 (8.8%) disorders. These were: dental disorder (OR 0.25; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.31), spinal cord disorder (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.14 to 0.71) and appetite disorder (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.20 to 0.91).
conclusionsThese results suggest that the health of English Bulldogs is substantially lower than dogs that are not English Bulldogs and that many predispositions in the breed are driven by the extreme conformation of these dogs. Consequently, immediate redefinition of the breed towards a moderate conformation is strongly advocated to avoid the UK joining the growing list of countries where breeding of English Bulldogs is banned.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.